In manufacturing environments, such as those that employ a stamping operation, it is often required to convey large and/or irregularly-shaped objects from one manufacturing location to another. For example, it may be required to convey a vehicle body panel from a stamping location to an inspection area or to another downstream location, such as a welding department.
The conveyance of large and/or irregularly-shaped objects is not limited to a manufacturing environment. Rather, the conveyance of such objects may take place in multiple industries. In any event, conveying objects of different sizes along a single conveyor line and/or conveying objects of irregular shape may be problematic for several reasons. In the former case, a substantial difference in the size of objects to be conveyed may require the construction and use of a conveyor that is substantially larger than necessary to convey many of the objects transported thereby. In the latter case, objects with substantially irregular shapes (e.g., vehicle body panels) may not ride properly on a typical flat conveyor belt and/or may sustain damage to one or more portions thereof when transported by such a conveyor belt.
It can be understood from the foregoing commentary that it would be desirable to provide a conveyor apparatus that is adaptable to a particular object that is to be transported thereby. A conveyor of the present invention provides such adaptability.